III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 38 

Commending the people of Iraq on the January 30, 2005, national elections. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2005 

Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. 

ALEXANDER, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BAYH, Mr. 

BENNETT, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. BOND, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWNBACK, 

Mr. BUNNING, Mr. BURNS, Mr. BURR, Mr. BYRD, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. 

CARPER, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. COBURN, 

Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. COLEMAN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. CORNYN, 

Mr. CORZINE, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. 

DEWINE, Mr. DODD, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. ENZI, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. GREGG, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. 

HATCH, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. 

JEFFORDS, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. KOHL, Mr. 

KYL, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. LOTT, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. MCCAIN, 

Mr. MCCONNELL, Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

NELSON of Florida, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. PRYOR, 

Mr. REED, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. 

SANTORUM, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHELBY, 

Mr. SMITH, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SPECTER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. STEVENS, 

Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. TALENT, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. THUNE, Mr. VITTER, Mr. 

VOINOVICH, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Commending the people of Iraq on the January 30, 2005, 

national elections. 
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•SRES 38 ATS

Whereas on January 30, 2005, Iraq held its first democratic 

elections in nearly half a century; 

Whereas after more than 3 decades of enduring harsh repression and lack of freedom, millions cast ballots on January 

30, 2005, to determine the future of their country in an 

election widely recognized as a success by the international community; 

Whereas the hard work, contributions, vision, and sacrifices 

of the Interim Iraqi Government in undertaking major 

political, economic, social, and legal reforms and, in conjunction with the efforts of the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission, in ensuring that Iraq held nationwide 

elections on January 30, and in not being intimidated by 

terrorist and insurgent forces resulted in the successful 

elections of January 30; 

Whereas on January 30, President George W. Bush stated 

that the election in Iraq was a ‘‘milestone’’ in Iraq’s history and that the ‘‘world is hearing the voice of freedom 

from the center of the Middle East’’; 

Whereas the January 30 election is another step in the process of developing a free and democratic Iraq; 

Whereas the people of Iraq cast votes to freely choose the 

275-member Transitional National Assembly that will 

serve as the national legislature of Iraq for a transition 

period, name a Presidency Council, and select a Prime 

Minister; 

Whereas the Transitional National Assembly will draft the 

permanent constitution of Iraq; 

Whereas the election establishes a credible process for governing Iraq under a mandate from the majority of the 

people of Iraq for a new Iraq in which all communities 
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•SRES 38 ATS

are represented, minority rights are respected, and violence is not tolerated; 

Whereas an estimated 14,300,000 Iraqis were registered to 

vote at more than 5,000 polling stations across Iraq and 

in 14 other countries; 

Whereas, with 256 political entities composed of 18,900 Iraqi 

candidates standing for election in 20 different elections 

(the national election, 18 provincial elections, and 

Kurdistan Regional government election), voter turnout 

demonstrated widespread enthusiasm for self-determination; 

Whereas Iraqi security forces joined with United States and 

Coalition forces in providing security for the elections; 

Whereas despite these efforts, many Sunni Iraqis in some 

provinces did not vote because of fear and intimidation; 

Whereas the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division 

and other nongovernmental organizations provided technical support and assistance to the Independent Electoral 

Commission of Iraq and the Iraqi Interim Government; 

Whereas the people of Iraq will again exercise their popular 

will through a national referendum in October 2005, 

when the Transitional National Assembly presents a 

draft constitution for Iraq; 

Whereas national elections based on that constitution are 

then to be held in December 2005 to choose an Iraqi government in a manner prescribed by the constitution; 

Whereas it is in the interest of Iraq, the Middle East, the 

United States, and the international community that Iraq 

successfully transitions to a functioning democratic state, 

as this may serve as a catalyst for peace and stability in 

the region; and 
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•SRES 38 ATS

Whereas the Iraqi government needs assistance from the 

broader international community to further develop governing capacity, train effective security forces who can 

defeat the terrorists and insurgents and maintain law 

and order, improve economic conditions, and maintain essential services, such as the delivery of electricity, gasoline, and water: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commends the people of Iraq on the suc3 cessful nationwide elections held in Iraq on January 

4 30, 2005, and recognizes the elections as another 

5 step in developing a free and democratic Iraq; 

6 (2) recognizes the desire for freedom and lib7 erty of all individuals who served as candidates, 

8 campaign workers, United Nations and Iraqi election 

9 officials, and voters in the January 30, 2005, elec10 tions in Iraq and congratulates the new members of 

11 the Transitional National Assembly and the leaders 

12 of the provincial and regional governments; 

13 (3) urges the new leadership of Iraq to move 

14 forward with drafting the constitution, upholding the 

15 law, and holding a referendum on the new constitu16 tion in October 2005; 

17 (4) encourages participation of all groups and 

18 communities in the drafting of a new constitution 

19 and the formation of a permanent government for 

20 Iraq; 
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1 (5) recognizes and honors the sacrifices made 

2 for freedom and liberty in Iraq by the people of Iraq; 

3 (6) commends the Iraqi security forces, and the 

4 U.S. armed forces and Coalition forces, who ensured 

5 the elections could be conducted in a relatively safe, 

6 secure, and credible manner; 

7 (7) condemns and deplores all acts of violence 

8 and intimidation against the people of Iraq by mem9 bers of the former Iraqi regime, insurgents, and 

10 other extremists and terrorists; 

11 (8) supports the establishment of a fully demo12 cratic Iraqi government that respects the rule of law, 

13 promotes ethnic and religious tolerance, respects the 

14 rights of women and all minorities, provides security 

15 and stability for the people of Iraq, and has the ca16 pacity to maintain basic services such as the delivery 

17 of sufficient electricity, gasoline, and water; 

18 (9) believes that it is in the interest of the peo19 ple of Iraq, the Middle East, the United States, and 

20 the international community that Iraq transitions to 

21 a fully democratic state, and that doing so may 

22 serve as a catalyst for peace and stability in the re23 gion; 

24 (10) calls on the international community, par25 ticularly Arab states, countries with predominantly 
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1 Muslim populations, and all North Atlantic Treaty 

2 Organization member states, to provide military and 

3 police personnel to train and assist Iraqi security 

4 forces and to otherwise assist in the political and 

5 economic development of Iraq; 

6 (11) encourages the newly-elected transitional 

7 government of Iraq to ensure that all Iraqis, includ8 ing members of the Sunni religious community, are 

9 represented in the Constitution-writing process and 

10 in the new Iraqi cabinet to improve the prospects for 

11 national unity and consensus; and 

12 (12) looks forward to welcoming Iraq into the 

13 world community of democratic nations. 

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